Forget Tim Tebow: It’s been the real tight ends—Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski—who have dominated offseason headlines in New England. It didn’t long for the mystery of Hernandez’s alleged involvement in the homicide of his friend to render the mystery about Gronkowski’s health insignificant.

The fact that Gronkowski, coming off back surgery following forearm surgery, may not be ready to play in Week 1 pales in comparison to the cold hard one that Hernandez won’t play for the Patriots again. The team didn’t waste time in releasing Hernandez after police took him into custody in connection with the fatal shooting on Wednesday morning.

Before Hernandez was taken away in handcuffs, Patriots fans were already nervous about the near future of their team's prolific passing offense. Even if the Patriots had kept Hernandez, given his looming NFL suspension following personal misconduct, they would have been without him for a while.

With both Hernandez and Gronkowski on the field, the team presented defenses with the ultimate matchup nightmare. As we learned last season, even when both players took turns on New England's weekly injury report, just one of them was dangerous enough for most opponents.

But who had was the most critical tight end to the Patriots’ 2013 plans, Hernandez or Gronkowski? Unfortunately, it’s the one they just let go.

If you asked that question right after the end of last season, it would have been Gronk, hands down. He didn't play in the AFC championship game loss to Baltimore after reinjuring himself in the divisional round against Houston.

Last season, in the six games in which Gronkowski played and Hernandez didn't, quarterback Tom Brady threw for 14 touchdowns and no interceptions while posting a 113.0 passer rating. The team went 5-1. In the six games in which Hernandez played and Gronkowski didn't, Brady's rating was a modest 84.6 (12 TDs, 7 interceptions) and the Patriots were 4-2.

The 2013 season was set up to be different, however. Along with Hernandez, gone are Brady's two best and seasoned wide receivers, Wes Welker and Brandon Lloyd. They have been replaced, in essence, by former Rams slot machine Danny Amendola and rookie Aaron Dobson. The rest of the mixed bag at wideout includes newcomers Michael Jenkins, Donald Jones, Josh Boyce and Lavelle Hawkins.

Meanwhile, the current tight end Hernandez-less pool behind Gronkowski includes Jake Ballard, Michael Hoomanawanui and for now, Daniel Fells.

Taking into account all of Brady's remixed options, the Patriots were in position to get by much better without Gronkowski than they can without Hernandez.

Of the two, Gronkowski is the true traditional tight end. As much attention as he gets for being an athletic receiver with soft hands, he's also a strong run blocker for a team that had a high volume of rushing attempts last season.

At 6-6, 265, he's much taller than Hernandez (6-1, 245). That makes him a big body to move in-line and a big target when rolling downfield. There is no one player in the league, let alone on the Patriots' roster, who can replace Gronk.

The team is fortunate it had the foresight to sign Ballard last offseason—after he suffered a torn ACL in his left knee against the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI. It was a sneaky stash of a player who has similar size to Gronkowski.

Ballard was a strong blocker for the Giants and was growing into a polished receiver before the injury. He can't do things as well as Gronk, but he can at least do the things Gronk is asked to do.

Dobson, a second-round pick from Marshall, was signed last week. The Patriots hope he can combine his good hands with some improved route running to help give them what Lloyd provided. Even if he has a more limited role than Lloyd had, Dobson has the size (6-3, 203) to get some good red zone looks from Brady. As individuals, Ballard and Dobson aren’t Gronkowski, but together they can form a semi-competent one if needed.

Hernandez was more of a wide receiver hybrid—aka the offensive "joker"—and considering the collective inexperience of the Patriots' wide receivers in the offense, his release is a huge blow to Brady. The perception is Amendola will come in and become another Welker, but that's assuming Amendola shakes off his durability concerns to stay on the field at Welker's level of reliability. With that in mind, Hernandez was set up to be a key supplemental slot option.

The Patriots liked to line up Hernandez all over the field, which made it hard for defenses to pinpoint him and take him out the game. Whether the Patriots lined him up outside, inside, in the backfield or in the slot, they thrived on using him to exploit overmatched defenders, wherever they were.

The Patriots also were in the process of finding more ways to maximize Hernandez's athleticism, and sadly, his serious off-field concerns cut short his continued growth as a complete player for them. One AFC team scout said that given Hernandez's own durability issues, "they just were scratching the surface" with what he could do in the Patriots' innovative offense.

Of the potential replacements on the open market, the one that makes the most sense is former Indianapolis Colt Dallas Clark, coming off one season in Tampa Bay. Consider that Clark was once to Peyton Manning what Welker is now to Manning and was to Brady—a consistent winner of inside routes. Given Clark's experience, it wouldn't take him long to click with Brady.

Before Hernandez’s troubles, the two key questions about the Patriots’ offense were how Brady would be affected by the loss of Welker and by the prospect of Gronkowski missing more time to start to 2013.

Although the Patriots should be applauded for their zero tolerance in quickly cutting ties with Hernandez, it leaves them needing to quickly find a solution to their new biggest on-field problem.

JOKERS GONE WILD

While the Patriots will no longer have their familiar two-tight end look that drove the trend, several other teams in the copycat NFL drafted tight ends to give them a more dynamic, versatile passing game in 2013:

Bengals. They already had a Pro Bowl tight end in Jermaine Gresham, but first-rounder Tyler Eifert is the complete package to emerge as Cincinnati’s most dangerous receiver after A.J. Green. Green's speed to stretch the field will clear room for Eifert to post up defenders underneath.

Eagles. Zach Ertz is a Chip Kelly kind of player, and Philadelphia will figure out how to get the pure receiver on the field. Having more traditional veteran blockers around such as Brent Celek and former Texan James Casey should allow Ertz to focus on making some impact plays.

Cowboys. Dallas will try to diversify its potent attack with more two-tight end looks, and Jerry Jones says he is "excited" about what rookie Gavin Escobar can do working with future Hall of Famer Jason Witten. With Witten drawing attention, Escobar has a chance to take advantage of favorable coverage.

49ers. The smart San Francisco front office did it again, selecting Vance McDonald in the second round to be the Swiss Army knife replacement for Delanie Walker (now with the Titans) and new complement to Vernon Davis. McDonald has sure hands and is already a strong blocker. With Michael Crabtree on the shelf, McDonald and Davis figure to be frequent targets for Colin Kaepernick.

Chiefs. Speaking of the Niners, new Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith will get a chance to benefit from an unheralded but skilled duo of former Dolphin Anthony Fasano and rookie Travis Kelce. Kelce, who fell to the third round because of predraft character concerns, has the all-around potential to be a huge steal for the Chiefs.

Redskins. Rookie Jordan Reed is built like Hernandez, went to Florida like Hernandez and grew up in Connecticut like Hernandez. Unfortunately, Washington's tight end plans are in limbo as Reed (thigh) is hurting while veteran Fred Davis (Achilles') is recovering. For now, the Redskins hope one will be healthy and productive enough to give Robert Griffin III more help in Year 2.